ATLANTA -- Imagine where the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers would be without a botched field goal here, a blown tackle there.

The Falcons (2-3) opened the season with an overtime loss at Green Bay, then fell to Chicago by one point when Jay Feely missed a field goal in the final minute.

If misery loves company, Atlanta has the right opponent today. Carolina (3-3) is trapped in a chamber of torturous losses, falling the last three weeks to Green Bay, Arizona and Dallas by a total of seven points.

''Guys are going to have to step up,'' Panthers fullback Brad Hoover said. ''You're going to see what guys are really made of and what kind of character this team has.''

The Panthers, 1-15 a year ago, were the league's most surprising team when they won their first three games.

The pendulum began to swing when Shayne Graham missed a chip-shot field goal with 13 seconds left that would have forced overtime at Green Bay. Instead, the Packers held on for a 17-14 victory.

The following week, Carolina watched Bill Gramatica kick a 50-yard field goal with 16 seconds left, giving Arizona a 16-13 victory in Charlotte.

The Panthers suffered another another excruciating defeat last week. Leading 13-0 at Texas Stadium, the Panthers gave up two touchdown passes in the final four minutes to fall 14-13.

First-year coach John Fox, sounding a bit naive, insisted his team hasn't been shaken by all these painful losses.

''How are we doing?'' he said. ''About the same as we were doing after three pretty tough wins. We've done a pretty good job of focusing after wins and losses. I don't think it will be different this week. It's no different than three wins in a row.''

Perhaps he is just being mindful that Carolina already has tripled its victory output from a year ago.

''We've had six tough games,'' Fox said. ''We've won three and we've lost three. Obviously, we would like to have won them all, but that's not realistic in this league with our team.''

The Falcons are feeling better about themselves after proving they could win a close one with Michael Vick on the sidelines.

Doug Johnson took over at quarterback for the injured Vick last week and guided Atlanta to a 17-10 road victory the Giants. Vick, who sprained his non-throwing shoulder, resumed practicing this week and is expected to start today.

He should get plenty of chances to test his shoulder. Carolina leads the league with 25 sacks, and Falcons right tackle Todd Weiner -- who protects Vick's back side -- is questionable because of a deep calf bruise in his left leg.

Rookie Julius Peppers already has six sacks.

''He's got the athleticism and speed that reminds me of Jevon Kearse,'' Weiner said. ''He does things that just make your jaw drop.''

Vick won't be the only familiar name returning to the Falcons. Ray Buchanan likely will start at cornerback after being suspended the last four games for a positive steroid test.

Hardly humbled by the experience, Buchanan wasted no time getting his mouth back in working order.

''I can't wait to get back on the field,'' he said. ''I'm challenging Carolina to throw the ball at me 20 times.''

The Panthers don't appear capable of taking him up on the challenge. No. 1 quarterback Rodney Peete is out with a knee injury, forcing Carolina to hand the job back to Chris Weinke, the starter during the dismal 2001 season.

Weinke, once touted as Carolina's franchise quarterback, was demoted before the season. Now, with Peete expected to be out several weeks, the 2000 Heisman Trophy winner can prove he deserves to be in the team's long-term plans.

''I feel comfortable and confident in what I can do,'' Weinke said. ''I'll be ready.''

The Falcons have dominated the series. They swept Carolina the last two seasons and are 6-1 against the Panthers at the Georgia Dome.

''We haven't been beating a lot of people the last couple of years. It's not just Atlanta,'' tight end Wesley Walls said. ''We've played a couple of games where we went in there thinking we would win, and they've just hammered us.''

Neither team can afford to lose any more ground in the NFC South, which looked to be one of the league's weakest divisions after realignment but has been very competitive.

Tampa Bay and New Orleans are 5-1. Atlanta and Carolina would be right in the mix if a few plays had gone differently.

''At this point, all division games are very important,'' Falcons cornerback Ashley Ambrose said. ''This is a tough division, maybe the toughest in the NFL.''